City of Strangers

by Diana Rivers

Until the day she was abducted, Solene knew only home and “outside.”

Surrounded by every luxury, nineteen-year old Solene wants only to return home. She does not want to marry a future king and above all, she wants out of her gilded cage. Hernorium is a beautiful city, but its politics don’t interest her anymore than marriage does. She wants to go home to her family, her lover and her lands.

Chances for escape are rare, and she hopes to bide her time until the odds improve. But when Hernoriums’ plans for expansion include ignoring the treaties that have kept her people safe for centuries she finally realizes the ruthless risks she must take to save her people—and herself.

Diana Rivers (The Hadra Series) spins a captivating story of a young woman’s determination to protect her people, even if it means calling strangers friends.

Reviews

Book Marks by Richard LaBonte

Syndicated 07/12/2010: Tales of women-only tribes set in a utopian world have long been a staple of feminist and lesbian fiction. What distinguishes this one -- in addition to smooth writing and a fast-paced plot --is that peace isn't the only path, utopia comes with quarrels, and not every man is a villain. The story centers on 19-year-old Solene, taken captive by brutal Peltron to be the bride of his brother, the more sweet-tempered Torvin, back in the city of Hernorium. Her eventual escape leads to Peltron's vow to annihilate the women's idyllic village and to make slaves of them all. But the men are humiliated by a violent defense they hadn't expected, and Peltron's cocky, snotty son, Ramule becomes ransom for other women enslaved in the city. Rivers, author of the six-novel Hadra series, adds emotional heft to the muscular tale by crafting complex women characters who don't always get along, and by mixing into the story a couple of sympathetic men, including, in a nice touch, young Ramule.